On the heels of James Cameron's discovery of a tomb with the remains of Jesus came an announcement by talk radio host Rush Limbaugh that he had discovered a coffin with the remains of another historical character that many social scientists consider a mythical creature - the Rugged Individual. But while Mr. Cameron's findings strike at the heart of the basic tenets of backward-looking Christianity, Mr. Limbaugh's discovery is meant to strike at the very heart of progressive faith that denies the existence of a self-sufficient Individual who can survive without the government handouts, regulations, and oversight.
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Limbaugh insists that he is not a revisionist historian; he is only reporting facts. "It's a fact that the Rugged Individual once lived in America and settled the West," the controversial commentator said. "He used to be free and morally upright. He spoke his mind without fear of persecution. He ran his own business the way he saw fit. He raised his own children according to his own values. He owned property that he earned with his own hands, and he used a gun to protect that property from thieves. These are facts. So what I'm saying is, hey, world, pay attention. First let's discuss the facts and then let's see their implications on progressive ideology."
Social scientists are widely and roundly rejecting these claims. Some are dismissing them as a ploy backed by corporations to pervert the truth. "The whole progressive movement has faced this since the day Marx wrote his Communist Manifesto," writes one scholar in a letter to San Francisco Chronicle. "Limbaugh needs to go back to college and take a standard course in political science," writes another scholar. "Our whole philosophy is based on the impossibility of Rugged Individualism. I have no plans to give this discovery any publicity within the walls of my college."
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